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After a little more than 10 years in their home on West Vickery Blvd, the Stage West Board of Directors, backed by Executive Producer Dana Schultes and Managing Director Mark Shum, has officially purchased the property on behalf of the organization. For the past decade, the group has operated under a triple-net lease managed by the Ol’ Vic L.P., a group comprised largely of Stage West supporters who purchased the building for Stage West back in 2008. This move is a significant one in the organization’s history.

Benefits include:

Lower mortgage cost than lease rate

Tax exempt status on property (taxes were previously passed onto the organization as a portion of the rent)

Equity in property that is extremely valuable in the exponentially growing Near South district of Fort Worth.

Greater availability for rental by other small professional theatres and start-ups, when not in use by our own in-house productions.

Stage West wishes to extend a huge thanks to all of those who made up the Ol’ Vic L.P. “Without that group, we would probably have closed shop back in 2008. We had just moved in and were suddenly at risk to have the property bought out from under us by a Dallas realty group with a lot of money. We owe those supporters a great deal of gratitude for stepping in, pooling their funds, and purchasing the property. Over the last decade, they managed it for us and essentially paved the way for this purchase to happen. They are part of a long list of people who have significantly contributed to Stage West since its inception in 1979,” says Schultes of Stage West’s supporters.

Over the next several months, the organization’s development committee, led by Bronson Davis and Subie Green, will lay the ground work for renovations fundraising. Those projects are divided into three phases. The completed design will significantly enhance the patron experience, while also greatly improving the efficiency and layout of the 16,000 sq.ft. warehouse space which, at its origin in the 1930s, functioned as a bus garage for the city.

The company hopes this moment in history will help pave the way for many wonderful years ahead as Stage West continues its commitment to entertain, inspire, and challenge through great live theatre.

Thank you to everyone who made NTGD a success here at Stage West. Combined with our Swenson Family incentive match $73,461 were raised for our theater's 39th season general operations. Thank every last one of you from the bottom of our hearts.

Stage West is happy to announce that we will be participating in the new, national Playwrights Welcome! initiative. We are delighted to offer day-of-show tickets to Dramatists Guild Members in our community and to do our part in keeping our present and future writers immersed in their craft.

Playwrights Welcome is a new program created to support and inspire these writers, as well as the next generation of great American plays and musicals. The goal is simple: to provide free access to theatre for playwrights, composers and lyricists around the country.

Developed for the Dramatists Guild of America Members, Playwrights Welcome is a national ticketing initiative created by Samuel French along with Dramatists Play Service, Dramatic Publishing, Music Theatre International, Playscripts and Rodgers and Hammerstein. This program was made out of a desire to support the artistic health of our industry's writers, and by extension the vibrancy of the American theatre.

We’re aware that attending theatre is an integral part to how writers learn their craft and grows as artists. However, it can often be costly for writers to do that simple act. Playwrights Welcome is designed to offer available tickets to professional playwrights on the day of a performance, free of charge. These available tickets are ones that would otherwise go unsold; we firmly believe that no theater should give away a ticket that could otherwise be sold.

Submissions for the 11th Annual Southwest Playwriting Competition are now being accepted.

The winning play(s) chosen through this competition will be work-shopped and presented as a staged reading by professional actors in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. A $500 prize will be awarded to the winning playwright. A future, full production of the play is also possible.

The application postmark deadline will be April 15, 2017. The decision date is dependant upon the number of entries.

Plays can not have been published. The competition uses a method in which the readers do not know the names of the playwrights before the final results are announced.

The finalists will be shared with the public during the 2018 New Play Readings Festival.

Every year, North Central Texas area students are invited to write a short play, narrative or monologue for our Neighborhood Play Contest. Sample themes include: culture, family, social issues, and life struggles or accomplishments. This year we have selected 14 plays and 13 monologues from 9 different schools to be staged and performed during the Festival of the Kid. The 2017 Festival of the Kidwill take place on the evenings of May 8th, 9th, and 10th. Two performances each evening (6:30pm and 8:15pm.)

From Benbrook Middle-High School

Thin Walls by Taylor Snider

The Sound of Life by Autumn Lanning and Lexi McCarthy

From Alice Carlson Elementary School

The Legend of Pumpkin Head by Matilda Flowers

From Waypoint Montessori

Quiet by Isabel Garza

From Carter-Riverside High School

Never Give Up by Fabrice Rutembesa

Shedding Skin by Alexa Weekly

Numbers: A Collection of Poetry by Rayleen Garcia

Monologue by Katia Ramirez

From Applied Learning Academy

In the Ground by Jociel Sigala

Monologue by Amira Vazquez-Chavez

Talking to the Moon by Jasmine Santillan

The Norm of Society by Katherine Rocha

The Date by Stephanie Vega

From Fort Worth Country Day

Center: A Dance With Words by Joe Westermann

Plastic Family by Chloe Gilpin

Three by Finn Connor

From Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts

4th Grade by Karris House

Dolls by Karris House

Puzzle Piece by Grace Jones

The Tea Party Tale by Grace Jones

Secrets by Kenzie Harrison

From Booker T. Washington HSPVA

The Story of Caroline Herschel by Madi Thoele

No Wrong Way To Cry by Calliope Thompson

Museless by Demi Tomasides

On the River by Leah Brooke Davis

Privilege by Leah Brooke Davis

From Trimble Tech HS

Theatre Three, Stage West, MainStage Irving-Las Colinas, Giant Entertainment and Frisco Theatre have joined The Firehouse Theatre, Onstage in Bedford, Mama's Party, WaterTower Theatre, Denton Community Theatre in rallying to raise money for Derek Whitener, Firehouse Theatre's artistic and education director. Whitener was treated at Baylor Medical Center in Dallas with a fractured skull after being attacked by two men in a parking lot at Target in Cityplace Jan. 14. He had surgery Sunday to remove a hematoma on his brain.

These two organizations embody the holiday spirit of goodwill and kindness, and we are excited to invite our patrons to share an evening of laughs with us while we all give back to our local community.

Critics are calling Murder for Two “(a) hilariously fine showcase of two extraordinarily versatile and funny entertainers.” -Theatre Jones

And audiences have been delighted: "Amazing! This is one of my all time favorites! We were blown away!” - Donna D.

MISSION: Founded in 1979, the mission of The Women's Center is inspiring, teaching and empowering women and families to overcome violence, crisis and poverty. The Women’s Center offers hope for a better tomorrow to the women, men and children of Tarrant County. website

MISSION: Our main mission is to prevent animal suffering. Our rescued animals receive medical attention and safe housing while preparing them for adoption. We will work in our community to eliminate pet overpopulation and prevent animal abuse. Our ultimate goal is to match our animals with the most adopters to ensure their future is spent in a secure and loving environment. website

Deepen your experience

After selected performances, join us for an open-ended discussion of ideas and themes in the show. A member of the artistic or production staff, local expert, artist, or scholar is on hand to facilitate the exchange.

The nice people at TexasHomesForSale wrote an article about the theatre for their website! Here's an excerpt: "Stage West is a live theater company that "nurtures the artistic growth of area actors, directors, designers, playwrights and musicians." For 37 years this Fort Worth theater company has set itself apart from other theaters...Enter Stage West and you may not want to exit." Read the whole thing on their website at this link!

With a title like Bad Jews, one expects a Borscht Belt-style routine, perhaps from the mind of Jackie Mason, or a comedy involving cross-cultural shenanigans.

But instead it is a critically acclaimed play by Joshua Harmon that has become one of the most-produced plays in the country.

The play has its area premiere opening Stage West’s 37th season. It previews Thursday and Friday and opens Saturday for a monthlong run.

EVERYTHING IN THE PLAY I’VE HEARD TALKED ABOUT OVER A DINNER TABLE IN THE LAST YEAR.

Richard J. Allen

“It’s a vicious, angry comedy, but it’s also very beautiful and meaningful about how young people look at religion in America,” says Richard J. Allen, who is making his full-production directing debut at Stage West.

“Everything in the play I’ve heard talked about over a dinner table in the last year,” he says.

New York’s Roundabout Theatre Company premiered the play in 2013 at the Laura Pels Theatre, and it earned several critics’ and off-Broadway nods for best play. It went on to successful runs in London and around the U.S.

The story brings together three 20-something Jewish cousins at their grandfather’s funeral, with a similarly aged gentile in the mix. They argue over a specific heirloom, which leads to discussions about the clashing of tradition and modernity, a common generational debate that happens with every religion and culture.